He drew away from the window. "A ghost, then. Or a revenant." That could have been what he saw, briefly rising up before returning to whatever otherworldly pit they crawled from.

He might be able to take one on--he was as light on his feet as ever, and he still had some spark of flame he could call on. But they were awful things, best observed from a distance, or attacked in force with the aid of other devoted. He rather doubted that Viktor, dear though he was, could take the place of a sanguine noble.

"I'd advise we stay indoors, then, and converse quietly." Just in case, he reached into a pack on a nearby table, pulling out a large bundle wrapped in that strange, indestructible cloak granted upon his arrival.

But he hadn't forgotten Viktor's question. "The Lands Between were abandoned by the gods that ruled them. Left to rot in heartbreak." Much like the Carian queen. Her husband's faithlessness should have been taken as a sign. "Most have gone mad in their absence."